Machine-gun mount



H. B. INGLIS. MACHINE GUN MOUNT.

I APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26,1921.

Pa ented" 001:. 24, 1922.

H. B. INGLIS.

MACHINE GUN MOUNT.

I APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. 192]. 1,432,?56.

Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 111 Ill Ill H. B. INGLIS. MACHINE GUN MOUNT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. I921.

Patented Oct. 24, 1922..

H. B. INGLIS.

MACHINE GUN MOUNT. APPLICATION map 1Au.2a. I921.

4 SHEETS+SHEET 4.

M t E 1'45 Patehted 001: 24, 1922.-

Patented Get. 24, 1 922.

HENRY B. INGLIS, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

MACHINE-GUN MOUNT.

Application filed January 26, 1921. Serial No. 440,135.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. INGLIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machine-Gun i:M'ounts, of which the following is a specifica- This invention relates to machine, gun mounts particularly adapted for use on aircraft, the improved gun mount being designed to be mounted upon the top of a fuselage of an airplane.

One of the main objects of the invention is to eliminate what is known as the dead are of fire underneath the fuselage due to the present inability to follow the gun sights down over the side of the fuselage.

A further object of the invention is to improve the facility for shifting the ns by intuitive control, at the gunners wil of either lateral or vertical release of the gun, independently of each other, in either succession, or combined.

Under the construction of machine gun mounts now in use, the observers gun turret makes it impossible to obtain a complete range or'arc of fire, especially under the fuselage and for a zone of considerable area, for the reason that the gun socket cannot be lowered over the side. of the fuselage and carried below the level of the-supporting ring or rail. That leaves much to be desired in the respect above noted when installed in the cockpit of the average machine, whose cockpit is ordinarily about forty inches in depth, permitting the gun sights to be followed only about forty-five degrees downwardly.

Beyond or below that angle, the gun spade grip swings upwardly abovethe gunners eye, and he depends on. 'following tracers, often effective enough at close ranges, but highly unsatisfactory at lor%irange.

e present invention aims to overcome the objections above noted and at the same time provide for an intuitive control or shifting of the guns position by the operator.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement herein fully described, illustratedand claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of the improved gun mount, showing the applied relation thereof to a fuselage, the gun being shown thereof and also showing a portion ofthe,

supporting rail or ring; I

Figure 5 is a side elevation or edge View of the gun mount, the lower portion thereof and the supporting rail or ring being shown in section; v

Figure 6 is a horizontal section through the lower portion of the gun mount showing the relation thereof to the supporting rail or ring and illustrating the clamping means for holding and releasing the gun mount laterally; I

Figure 7 is an enlarged diametric section through the hollow journal portion of the gun support;

Figure 8 is a cross section onthe line 8-8 of Figure 7; and

' Figure 9 is a cross section on the line 99 of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the fuselage of an airplane containing the usual gunners cockpit around which is placed asupporting ring or rail 11 for the gun mount, said ring comprising the ridge or rail portion indicated by the character able fasteners, said supporting rail is'se-' cured to the fuselage.

The gun mount comprises a gun carriage designated generally at A and the gun sup port designated generally at B. The carriage comprises a base 14 having oppositely arranged channeled portions 15 containing anti-friction rollers 16 journaled in the channeled portions and bearing against opposite sides of the rail 11 as illustrated in Figure 5. This enables the carriage to be moved longitudinally of the rail with perfect freedom.

Extending upwardly from the base 14 are pairs of arms 17 carrying at their upper ends annular bearings 18 and 19 in which is mounted the hollow journal 20 of the gun mount B, the latter also comprising a post 21 which is perpendicular to the journal 20. Connected pivotally to the post 21 by means of a normally horizontal pivot 22 is the gun socket 23 which holds the machine gun designated generally at C.

In order to hold the carriage stationary, when firing, I make use of a pair of clamping members 24, see Figure 6, said clamping members being connected by pivots 25 to threaded and adjustable plugs 26 which are screwed through threaded openings in the base 14 of the gun carriage. By turning the plugs 26 wear may be compensated for between the clamping members 24 and the web or flange 12 of the supporting rail hereinbefore referred to. The clamping members 24 extend toward each other, as shown in Figure 6, and areprovided with lips 27 which are engaged by a cross head 28 from which diverging flexible connections 29 extend to a cross piece 30 on the inner end of a control handle 31, the cross piece 30 resting against a fulcrum lug or projection 32 extendingfrom the base 14 of the carriage.

-Pressure sustaining rollers 33 bear against the opposite side of the web 12 as shown in Figure 6, said rollers 33 being journaled in brackets 34 within the interior of the base 14. It will now be understood that by grasping the control handle 31 and moving the same laterally in either direction, the clamping members 24 will be moved out of engagement with the web 12 and thereby enabling the carriage to be moved along its supporting rail 11. Either a push or pull in substantially horizontal direction on the handle 31 will bring about the desired result instantly agd upon releasing the handle 31. the clamping members 24 are restored to their clamping positions by means of an expansion spring 35 which is interposed between the free ends of the clamping members 24 and afixed surface of the base 14.

tions or collars 41 which serve to center the spring 39, as shown in Figure 7. Fitted to the opposite ends of the tubular journal 20 are end caps 42 and 43 which are held in the bearings 18 and 19 above referred to. The cap 42 has a cylindrical hub or flange 43 which fits inside of the tubular journal 20 and is formed with an annular abutment shoulder 44 which rests against a corresponding internal shoulder in the tubular journal. The cap 43 at the other end of the journal also has a cylindrical flange 45 which fits into the adjacent end of the tubular journal and is further provided with a friction shoulder 46 which bears against the adjacent end of saidtubular journal. Fitting into an annular recess in the h aring 19 is a friction ring 47 and cooperating therewith is a circumferential flange 48 on the cap 43. The end cap 43 thus forms a clamping member to hold the tubular journal 20 from turning. The cap 43 is operated or thrust inwardly by means of acam lever 49, see Figures 4 and 5, the same being pivotally mounted on a pin or bolt 50 passing through the projecting end of the pin or bolt 40 and through a nut 51 threaded thereon. By rocking the cam lever 49 the clamping member 43 is pressed inwardly or allowed to move outwardly. The spring 39 has one of its ends inserted in a socket or hole 52 in the tubular journal 20 as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The opposite end of said spring is inserted in a socket 53 in the end cap or clamping member 43. The spring 39 thus acts to counterbalance the gun and hold the same in a predetermined relation to the carriage. By releasing the clamping member 43. the journal 20 may be partially turned to adjust the gun to any one of the positions illustrated in Figures 1,2 and 3 or to any other desired position.

A flexible operating connection 54 extends from the free end of the cam lever 49 through a tubular guide 55 to an upstanding arm 56 on the control handle 31. An expansion spring 57 is interposed between the cam lever 49 and the adjusting arm 17 of the carriage. swinging the same in a substantially vertical plane the cam lever 49 which is held normally in clamping position by the spring 57, is moved to releasing posit1on,'thereby releasing the clamping member 43 and permitting the journal 20 and the gun su port to be turned to any desired extent. Bpon releasing the handle 31, the clamping member 43 again becomes active holding the By grasping the handle 31 and journal 20 against further turning move- 17 of the gun carriage and in conjunction A. bolt 58 extends through each pair of arms with expansion springs 59 seated in recesses 60 in certain arms 17 serve to adjust and maintain the rollers 16in working contact with the supporting rail 11 as shown in Figure 5.

By means of the construction herein shown and described the gunner is able to swing the gun socket downwardly over the side of the fuselage to the proper level to enable his eye to follow the sights over the spade grip when firing straight downwardly and even underneath the fuselage. A high position of the machine gun is also obtained due to the length of the arms of the carriage plus the height of the post 21. 'The gun weight is at all times counterbalanced by the spring 39,, while the clamping members enable the gun carriage and gun support to be clamped and released instantly at the will of the operator and by an intuitive movement of the control handle. Thus by means of a single control handle located onthe gun carriage, where the-greatest leverage is obtained for moving the carriage along its supporting rail, either the gun support or the carriage may be released, independently or both at the same time. Vertical pressure on the control handle releases the support for changing the elevation of the gun, while the carriage remains locked. Side pressure on said control handle, either push or pull, releases the gun carriage so that it may be freely shifted laterally or longitudinally of the supporting rail, while the gun support remains locked. The motions above referred to correspond to the desired direction'of shifting the gun so that the gun is released by the gunners involuntary pressure on the control handle. By pressing the control handle at an angle of about forty-five degrees or midway between .the horizontal and vertical, both clamping means may be simultaneously relased for shifting the gun. in elevation and shifting the carriage laterally.

hat I claim is:

1. In a mount for machine guns, the combination of a supporting rail, a carriage movable along said rail and embodying arm like portions which embrace said rail on opposite sides, and means for drawing said arm like portions into contactual engagement with said rail.

2. In a mount for machine guns, the combination of a supporting rail, a carnage movable along said rail and embodying arm like portions which embrace said rall on opposite sides, rollers carriedby said arm like ortions and working in rolling contact with said rail, and means for adjusting said arm like portions toward and away from each other to bring said rollers into proper relation to the rail.

3. In a mount for machine guns, the combination of a supporting rail, a carriage movable along said rail, a gun post having a tubular portion perpendicular thereto and journaled on the carriage, and tensioning means for said gun post contained within said tubular portion.

ea 4. In a mount for machine guns, the combination of a supporting rail, a carriage movable along said rail, a gun post havin a tubular portion perpendicular thereto an journaled on the carriage, tensioning means for said gun post contalned within said t-ubular portion, and retaining means for said tubular portion to permit when released the adjustment of the angle of the gun about a horizontal axis and a corresponding adjustment. of the tensioning means,

5. In a mount for machine guns, the combination of a supporting rail, an upright member having )ortions embracing said rail, rollers journaled in said embracing portions adjustably mounting the support on said rail, a gun support journaled in said upright support, clamping members for .holding said upright member and gun support in their respective adjusted positions, and a single controlling means for actuating said clamping members independently or simultaneousl 6. In a mount for machineguns, a com bination of a supporting rail having ridge and flange portions, an upright member mounted on said supporting rail and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a gun support journaled in said upright member and angularly adjustable thereon, yieldable counter-balancing means forlsaid gun sup- 95 port, clamping means to maintain said support in adjusted position, pivotall mounted members for clamping said uprig t member and gun support in their respective adjusted positions, and a single controlling device for actuating said clamping members independently or simultaneously.

7. In a mount for machine guns, a combination of a supporting rail, an upright member constructed to embrace said rail and bodily adjustable thereon, a gun support journaled in said upright member, pivotally mounted members for clamping said gun support and upright member in their respective adjusted positions, a' hand operated de- 0 vice mounted on said upright member for actuating the respective clamping members, and a flexible operating connection between said hand operated device and the clamping members of said gun support, said hand operating member being adapted to actuate the respective clamping members independently or simultaneously.

8. In a mount for machine guns, the combination of a supporting rail having ridge and flange portions, a carriage having upright arms constructed to embrace said rail and bodily adjustable thereon, anti-friction rollers on said carriage engaging with said rail ridge and flange portions respectively,

' a gun support journaled in the upright arms of said carriage, a tensioning sprlng between said carriage and gun support operableto hold the latter under tension in adjusted position, pivotally mounted members on the carriage for clamping against rail flange, a nections between said hand operated memspring normally holding said members in bar and the respective clamping devices opclamping position, a cam lever for clamping erable for actuating the same independently 10 said gun support in adjusted position, a or simultaneously. spring normally holding the last named In testimony whereof I have aflixed my lever in clamping position, a hand operated signature.

member mounted on the carriage, and con- HENRY B. INGLIS. 

